A Sory Story
by smartbot94
Summary: AU: Let's pretend that Samcedes never happened and that Sam's parents never went broke and moved from Ohio. Maybe Rory could have been sponsored by the Evans family?
1. Chapter 1  Google Maps

**Chapter 1 ~ Google Maps**

Margaret Flanagan rushed up the cramped stairs of her townhouse flailing her arms around, an envelope in her hands.

"Rory! Rory, dear! Rory, come here now!" she screamed as she banged on her son's bedroom door.

"Y-yes, ma'am?" the teenage boy answered, opening the door. "Am I in trouble? 'Cause I promise I didn't eat the cookies you baked for the bible study group, Seamus did."

"No, no, no, not that! But thank you for telling me. He's going to be in big trouble later. Anyway, I'm here to talk to you about this letter, young man."

"What letter, mom?"

"This one!" she screamed, shoving the letter into his hands.

The sent address read: _Irish-American Foreign Exchange Student Program. _Rory just mouthed an "Oh," and then stared wide-eyed at his raging mother.

"I thought I told you not to fill out that application, son! You knew I didn't want you going to America! There's nothing there besides a bunch of prostitutes and drug addicts and I am _not_ going to have my little Rory exposed to such travesties!" Margaret paused to take a deep breath and then finished with, "You're not going anywhere." She triumphantly nodded her head and began to walk downstairs.

"But mom," Rory called after her. "I really wanted to go."

Rory's mother snapped around and charged back up the stairs. "I said no and that's final!"

"Why can't I, mom? I'm sixteen; I think I'm old enough to make my own decisions, don't you?" Rory knew it was a dumb thing to say as soon as he had said it.

"No, I don't, son. You are nowhere near being old enough to be able to make decisions this big, especially ones that affect the whole family so much!"

"But if I go, that's less food I eat, less space I take up, ma. This could be a wonderful experience for me. Shouldn't you be happy that I would have this kind of opportunity?"

"Yes, I am happy for you, son, but I don't think I could handle being away from you for that long." She began to tear up at the thought.

Rory wrapped his arms around his mother. "Please, ma, can I at least see if I got accepted? If not, you've been getting all worked up for nothing."

Margaret let out a heaved sigh, but gave in. "Fine, open the letter."

Rory took a deep breath and then tore open the envelope. He quickly scanned it and then said, "Umm…I guess I did get accepted."

Rory's mother threw her hands up in a huff. "Are you serious? Oh God, help me!" She grabbed at her heart, feigning a heart attack.

"Mom, stop overreacting! Everything will be OK!"

Margaret immediately stood straight up, a stern look on her face. "Everything will most certainly _not_ be OK, Rory Flanagan! You deliberately disobeyed my order to not fill out that application and now my little boy is about to fly an ocean away for a whole year and I won't see him or be able to hug him!"

"Mom, please calm down," Rory patted his mother on the back. Then a grin swept over his face. "Wait, does this mean you're considering letting me go to America?" he asked, hopeful as ever.

"What kind of mother would I be if I stole an educational opportunity from my son?" Margaret said, still hyperventilating some. "I suppose I should begin to accept the fact that you are growing up. Just know that I am not happy with this and I expect phone calls every morning, noon, and night, and I demand to be able to talk to the principal at your new school and of course I expect weekly reports from the family you'll be staying with and-"

"Ma!" Rory screamed over her.

"What?" Margaret huffed.

"Thank you!" Rory wrapped his arms around his mother and squeezed.

"You owe me big time, Rory. But we will have to discuss all of this later when your father gets home from work, okay?" She glanced at the wall clock and gasped. "Oh, goodness, he'll be home in about fifteen minutes. I better get started on dinner." She kissed his forehead and headed on down the stairs mumbling something about how she was getting too old to deal with this kind of stress.

"Okay. I love you," Rory called after her, shooting a fist in the air. "Yes! I get to go to America!"

Rory ran over to his bed and sat down to examine the letter further and see just where in America he would be staying. The letter stated: _You have been paired up with the family of Sam Evans, who currently resides in Lima, Ohio._ Rory had no idea where Ohio was. He just hoped it would be as fun as New Jersey seemed to be, if the couple of episodes of _Jersey Shore_ he had seen were any indication of the American way of life. He grabbed his laptop and headed to Google Maps to see how far away Jersey was from Ohio.

* * *

><p>Mary Evans rushed up the spacious stairs of her home flailing her arms around, an envelope in her hands.<p>

"Sam, honey, come here please!" she asked, knocking on his door.

"Yeah, mom? What's up?" Sam Evans said, opening the door with a grin.

"Guess what I've got!" his mother sang.

"That Star Wars t-shirt I've been waiting weeks for?"

"Ha! Guess again. "It's the letter from that exchange program I signed our family up for."

Sam scratched his head. "You signed us up for an exchange program? You mean for like a kid? To come here? And live with us?"

"Duh!" his mom said giggling as she gave her son a noogie. "I told you this weeks ago."

"Are you sure it was me and not Stevie? 'Cause you know that sometimes you mix us up when you're behind us."

"Well, it's not my fault that you both have bright blond hair in the same cut! Anyway, regardless of whether you remember it or not, I did sign our family up for this program. I figure it'd be good for you. You've seemed lonely lately. Why is that?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "I haven't been lonely, mom."

She gave him "the look." You know "the look" that mothers give you when they know you aren't telling the truth; the look that can potentially scar a child for life if done properly.

"Okay, _fine, _I guess I have been. Just a little bit." Sam stuck his tongue out on his mom who returned the gesture.

"You wanna tell me why, sweetie?"

Sam knew better than to say no. His mother was the persistent type. Whenever she smelled something amiss, she would hound on it and annoy the person until they spilled the beans about whatever was grinding their gears.

"Fine, I'll talk. Just make sure the kids can't hear me."

Sam Evans never liked to show any sort of weakness in front of his two younger siblings Stevie and Stacy. He had to take care of them often while his parents both maintained successful careers at a law firm, so he saw himself as a huge role model to the kids. He wanted them to know that strength and determination could get them through anything.

"It's OK, Stevie's at karate practice and Stacy is over at Megan's house playing. Come downstairs with me. We'll have a Coke and just chill," Mary said, attempting to use the language she had heard her son use a few times.

The two headed downstairs, almost tripping on a Barbie doll in the process. Sam plopped down on the couch and let out a huge sigh as his mother grabbed two glasses out of the cabinet and filled them with ice.

"So, what's eatin' ya, babe?"

"Well, as you so correctly deduced, I'm kinda lonely."

"And why is that, my dear?" Mary said, handing Sam his glass of soda.

"Don't laugh, because this may make me sound kind of selfish and girly, but I really just want a significant other. Someone to call my own."

"That's not selfish, Sam. It's kind of sweet, actually."

Sam blushed. "Thanks I guess. It's just kind of a bummer when I look at everybody in the glee club and they all have boyfriends and girlfriends and I'm just sitting there like a bum."

Mary reached over to hug her son. "It's alright; you're such a sweet boy, anybody would be lucky to have you."

"Thanks, mom," Sam said, smiling sincerely for the first time in a while. "So what's up with this exchange program thing you were telling me about?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. Silly me." Mary got up and retrieved the letter from the counter. "Since you seemed so lonely, I decided that maybe a new friend would get you out of this little funk."

"So you decided to get me one from another country? Is Lima so destitute that I couldn't find any friends here?"

"Wow, you sure have been reading off that Word of the Day calendar I got you."

Sam playfully reached over and tapped his mother's arm. "Not the point, mom."

"I know, I know, I just like getting in a few jabs at you every once and a while." The two laughed, enjoying the fact that they just had some quality mother-son time to enjoy.

"So where's this kid gonna be from, anyway?"

Mary ripped the letter open and scanned it. "He's from Ireland. His name's Rory and he's sixteen, so just a couple years younger than you."

"Oh, sounds tolerable I guess."

"You know you'll have fun. I know it's hard on you having to take care of Stevie and Stacy all the time. I think it'll be good for you to have someone your own age to hang out with and maybe help you watch the kids."

"I think I can handle those little monsters just fine, thank you very much."

"What about monsters?" a voice screamed. Stevie Evans came careening through the living room at top speed, jumping right onto Sam's lap.

"I was talking about you and your little sister. You guys are totally monsters."

"Only to girls. They have icky cooties, remember?"

Everybody, including Sam's father, Dwight Evans began to laugh at the comment.

"So what's up, you two?" Dwight asked.

"We got that letter from that exchange program in the mail, honey. The kid's name is Rory and he'll be here in just a bit over three weeks."

"Oooh oooh oooh! You mean that I'm going to get another older brother to bug?"

Sam lightly punched Stevie in the arm. "You better be nice to him when he comes. Don't want to scare him back to Ireland as soon as he gets here."

"Isn't that the place where leprechauns come from?"

Sam laughed. "Yeah."

"Where is it?"

"Come on, let me go pull up Google Maps and show ya."

"I sure hope he's lucky. My teacher keeps telling me that I need to do better on my spelling tests."

Mary and Dwight just laughed silently to each other.

"Do you think we're ready to have another kid around here?" Dwight asked his wife.

"You know you like the madness we have here. What's another kid? We can handle it."


	2. Chapter 2  Goodbye, Ireland

_A/N: Oh my goodness! Thank you everybody who read and reviewed. You guys are awesome! Sorry for making you wait so long for this chapter, but I finally got it done! The next one will come a lot quicker than this one did. ^.^_

**Chapter 2 ~ Goodbye, Ireland**

Rory stuffed one last pair of socks into his suitcases and sighed. The moment was finally here. After weeks of waiting, he was finally going to America, the land of Chinese food and nachos. So what if Ohio was nowhere near New Jersey, Rory was just excited to get to meet his new "family."

Sam Evans' e-mail had been included in the acceptance letter so the two boys could get to know each other a little bit before meeting. From what he had gathered, Sam was not very good with words, (his first message had read 'hi I don't no what 2 say my mom just told me to emial u bcuz your going 2 b living with us.') but he was quite fond of Star Wars and some movie called Avatar that featured a bunch of "awesome blue badasses." Rory was a bit worried that he would be an outcast around the Evans household but tried to have a positive attitude.

"Ma, I'm done packing!" Rory shouted down the stairs.

"Don't remind me!" his mother screamed back.

He rolled his eyes and dragged the last bag downstairs. As soon as he rounded the corner, he was tackled by his brother, Seamus.

"Rors, please don't leave! I'm really gonna miss you! Who else is going to buy me ice cream after school every Friday?"

Rory chuckled softly. "Would it make you feel better if I left you some money so you can?"

Seamus' face instantly lit up. "That would be awesome! But I'll still miss you. I'm scared of the ice cream man. He has a creepy beard."

Rory laughed genuinely this time and ruffled his brother's hair. "You'll be fine, buddy. He won't hurt you."

"OK!" Seamus yelled.

"I'm gonna miss you, kid. Bye." Seamus hugged his big brother again before running off to his room.

Rory walked to the kitchen and then asked his mother, "Are you ready to take…" Rory stopped mid-sentence as he saw his mother crying. Margaret Flanagan, known as the "Woman of Steel" in the town, was actually crying. Rory did not know what to do.

"M-ma," Rory stuttered, "If we don't go now, I'm going to miss my plane."

"Son, I really don't want you to go. I don't know what I'll do without you."

Rory stepped over to his mom and was enveloped in a huge bear hug. "It'll be okay, ma. You'll still have Seamus."

"I know," his mother replied, beginning to dry her tears. "I just want you to be safe in America. There are lots of bad people over there that could hurt you and I just don't think I could deal with my baby boy getting hurt in a foreign country with me nowhere near him to protect him and…"

"Ma, it's okay. I'll be living with the Evans family and that Sam guy looks really muscular so I'm sure if I ever got into any trouble, he'll protect me."

All of a sudden, there was an awkward silence. Rory's eyes widened and he twiddled his thumbs for a moment.

"Umm, anyway son, I can be strong for you and let you go. Just be careful, all right? I don't know what I would do without my boy."

"I'll be fine, ma," Rory said, mentally wiping his forehead for not getting in trouble for his slight slip earlier.

Margaret Flanagan wiped her eyes one final time and said, "Well, get your last bag out to the car and I'll take you to the airport. Have you told your brother and father goodbye?"

"Seamus, yes, but not father."

"Well, you really should. Even though he's not happy about you going, he will still miss you."

Rory rolled his eyes and received a smack in the back of the head.

"Don't be rude, Rory. Go tell him goodbye."

"Yes, ma'am."

Rory strolled up to his parents' room and reluctantly knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice boomed and Rory entered.

"Hey father, it's almost time for me to leave to go to America."

Rory's father nodded his head absentmindedly while staring at the television.

"I just thought I'd say goodbye."

"OK, goodbye Rory."

Though Rory had not expected much, he really would have enjoyed a hug or even a glance from his own father. The relationship the two men had had was always strained. Ever since Rory had voiced his desire of becoming a singer instead of taking over the family convenience store when he grew up, his father had sort of distanced himself from his son out of contempt. Rory did truly feel bad about disappointing his father but his mother had always told him to follow his dreams. That's why he was going to America. He thought it was the best place for him to get started on pursuing his dreams.

Rory sighed and walked back downstairs to see his mother waiting at the door.

"All right, let's go, dear."

"OK, ma." Rory took one last look into his house and followed his mother out the door.

The ride to the airport was silent. Rory was left alone with his thoughts and suddenly he felt a pang of anxiousness take over. He had never really thought about the fact that he was going to be away from his family for _a whole year._ He would not be able to play game with his brother or get advice from his mother on a regular basis. A chill overcame him and he sat in a daze until he was shaken by his mother.

"Rory, dear, we're here."

Rory snapped out of his stupor and began to tear up a little. His mother got out and began taking her son's suitcases out of the car.

"Son, you better come and help or I'm going to just take you home."

At that moment, it took a lot for Rory not to just sit there and be driven home.

"Sorry, ma, I'm coming." Rory took a deep breath and got out of the car.

The pair walked to the ticket counter in silence. Every time Rory looked over at his mother he could not help but feeling guilty for making his mother so sad but he knew that deep down his mother would be happy for him having an opportunity like this.

"OK, son, I can't go any farther." The Woman of Steel began crying again, as did Rory.

"All right. B-bye, ma. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Rory. I love you."

When Margaret did not show any signs of letting go Rory had to tap her shoulder to get her to let go.

"If you don't let me go, I'll miss my flight."

"I don't care. You don't need to go. You can stay here and be my little boy forever."

"Ma, we've been over this. You said you finally got over the worry you had of me going. I'll be fine. I'm sixteen and I'm growing up. I'll be fine."

Rory's mother wiped her eyes and replied, "I know, it's just hard. You don't realize what it's like for me to lose a son like this. Especially when I told you not to apply for this silly exchange program anyway."

"Ma, you're not losing me. I'll still be able to call you on that international phone thing you got me."

"That better not be used for any other reason but talking to me, by the way."

"Yes, I know, ma. Anyway, I'll call all the time and send you pictures so it'll feel like I'm always right there, OK?"

"All right, son. Now go before you miss your flight. Have a wonderful time and you better call me as _soon_ as you land or so help me God I will fly there myself and come and get you and then ground you for not listening to me and make you sorry for ever going-"

"Ma!" Rory yelled. "Calm down."

"Sorry, honey."

The two hugged one last time before Rory kissed his mother on the cheek and walked away.

Rory slugged through security and then plopped down at his gate. The anxiety started to intensify the closer it got to his departure time. He broke into a cold sweat but tried to calm himself down by doing some deep breathing exercises he had learned from his mother.

"Flight 324 to Ohio, USA now boarding."

Rory took one last deep breath and got up to board the plane. Once on, he picked a seat near a window and took out a book to read. He had not expected the plane ride to take so long and his book did not entertain him for long. He got scolded for getting up and walking around so he just sat and decided to sleep for as long as he could.

Rory was awakened by an announcement over the intercom. "Passengers, we will be landing in roughly ten minutes. Please return all seats and trays to their upright and locked positions and remember to strap yourself in. Thank you."

Rory heeded the flight attendant's orders and immediately began to feel nervous. _What if the Evans' don't like me? What if I get made fun of? What if I don't fit in?_ Rory was jolted out of his worries by the plane skidding along the ground. He had to begin his deep breathing exercises once again to calm himself down.

When the plane reached its gate, Rory was thankful to be able to get up and stretch. He slowly gathered his things and walked out of the plane, thanking the pilot on his way out.

Rory was worried for a split second that he had been forgotten until he turned to the left and about fainted.

Sam Evans was the most beautiful man he had ever seen.


	3. Chapter 3  Hello, Ohio

_A/N: Told you guys that this would come faster than the last one did! Granted, it is a little short, but I guarantee that the next chapter will be longer. I sincerely hope you guys enjoy, and I must thank those who are reviewing. I get so giddy when I receive reviews! ^.^_

**Chapter 3 ~ Hello, Ohio**

"Come on, mom! If we don't leave now, we'll be late picking up Rory!" Sam Evans yelled upstairs.

"Oh gee, that wouldn't be giving a very good first impression, would it?" Mary Evans shouted back, gliding down the stairs.

"Nope, so let's go."

"Calm down, we'll be fine. Are Stacy or Stevie coming?"

"I don't know."

"Well go find them while I attempt to find my keys. They must be around here somewhere…" she trailed off.

Sam let out a heaved sigh and went off to find the monsters. It did not take long. Screams came from the backyard. Sam looked out of the sliding glass doors to see Stevie chasing Stacy around wearing the _Scream _mask he had recently found while the family was going through old stuff for a garage sale.

"Yo, Stevie, leave your little sister alone!"

Stacy practically tackled Sam's leg. "Thanks Sammy, he's been scaring me with that dumb thing for like five hours." Sam resisted the urge to point out that she had only returned from her Girl Scouts meeting thirty minutes prior.

Stevie ran over to the pair still donning the mask. Sam smacked him in the arm and Stevie yelled, "Hey, what was that for?"

"Dude, why are you chasing your sister around? Would you want me to scare you like that?"

"Yeah!" Stacy yelled and stuck her tongue out at her brother.

Stevie scoffed. "You can't scare me! Nothing can scare me. I'm a man." He flexed his nonexistent arm muscles.

Sam rolled his eyes. "You know, girls aren't going to ever like you if you keep that up."

"Why would I want girls to like me? They're gross!"

"Boys are gross!" Stacy retorted.

"Guys!" Sam yelled. "Just stop! Anyway, I came out here to ask you if either of you wanted to come to the airport to get Rory."

"The leprechaun?"

"Stevie, didn't I tell you to stop that? You're gonna offend him when he gets here."

"He can't help it that he's so mean, Sammy. That's just how boys are."

"You _do_ know that I'm a boy, right, Stacy?"

"But that's different. You're a man. He's a stupid little boy who likes to pick on girls because he's stupid!" Stacy stuck her tongue out again at her brother and he returned the gesture and put on his mask and resumed chasing her around the yard. Sam gave up and walked back in the house. _Some things never change,_ he thought.

"There they are, the little boogers!"

"Finally found the keys, huh?"

"Yeah, they were right on the key hook. Who woulda thunk it?"

"Truly a miracle."

"I wouldn't laugh at me if I were you. Remember who still does your laundry."

"Crap, you got me."

"Mothers always win, dontcha know? So, are the kids going?"

"Nope. Stevie's too busy chasing Stacy around trying to scare her."

"Well, did you try to stop them?"

"The Pope himself couldn't stop them two from fighting."

"True dat."

"Mom, _never_ say that again."

"Are we there yet?"

"Babe, we'll be there in five. Why are you in such a rush?"

Sam hesitated a bit before saying, "I just don't want to be late. How bad would it be if you arrived in a new country and thought you were forgotten?"

Sam really did not know why he was so anxious to get to the airport on time. Maybe it was the thrill of getting to meet a new person? From the few messages he had exchanged with Rory, he had seemed like a pretty cool guy (even though he had never seen Avatar). The bad thing was that he sort of intimidated Sam. He had always known he was not the brightest bulb in the bunch because of his dyslexia, and Rory's use of huge words had just left him in a daze.

That was it. He was anxious because he was scared. How could some non-muscular Irish boy be scaring Sam Evans. He had always taken pride in his physique, but maybe he was not as strong as he had had believed. _I will definitely have to lay off the Cool Ranch Doritos and work out _at least_ an extra hour tomorrow,_ he thought.

"Yeah, I guess that would suck," Mary Evans said, bringing Sam back to reality.

Sam stared out the window blankly until he saw the first sign indicating the airport was close. He let out an involuntary, yet somehow manly, squeal.

"Are you OK, son? Is there something you need to tell me?"

"No, mom, I'm uh, fine. It was just a hiccup."

"_Sure_ it was. Well anyway, we're here. You ready to go?"

"Yes!" Sam said a bit too excitedly, receiving an odd glance from his mother. He sprung out of the car while still trying to decipher why he was so excited in the first place. He eventually came to the conclusion that it was just his sense of adventure kicking in after a boring summer.

After quickly triple-checking to make sure they were in the correct place to pick up Rory, Sam and his mother sat on a bench to wait. Sam fidgeted and tapped his foot incessantly until the monitor announced that Flight 324 from Ireland had just landed. Sam's heart practically jumped out of his chest as he jumped up out of his seat.

"Sam, you really need to calm down. Weren't you the one talking about first impressions? You might scare him off if you look like a crazed man."

"Sorry, mom," Sam said, struggling to catch his breath.

Waves of people exited the plane but Rory was nowhere to be found. Sam started to freak out even more. He pulled out the piece of paper from his pocket that had his flight information. Everything was matching up, the gate, the time, the flight number. _What if something happened to him on the plane?_ he thought. He did not know why he was so worried about someone he had never met, but he had little time to think about it.

Before him stood the worried-looking Irish boy he had been waiting to meet and Sam could come to just one conclusion.

Rory Flanagan had the prettiest eyes he had ever seen.


	4. Chapter 4  Rivers of Consciousness

_A/N: I'm so horrible. I totally lied by saying that this chapter would be long, but I felt like their initial meeting/thoughts should be separate from the rest of the story. I hope you guys still like it and continue to have faith in me! Thanks for all the reviews! I love you all!_

**Chapter 4 ~ Rivers of Consciousness**

Rory stood frozen for what seemed like forever. He was completely enamored with the man in front of him. He could not tell whether his mouth was open or closed, if he still had possession of his luggage, or even if he was wearing pants at that point. His mind was focused on Sam and nothing else. His wonderfully styled blond hair, his kissable lips, his muscular physique…everything about him was simply perfect to Rory.

When Sam started walking towards him, Rory had no clue what to do.

"Umm, hey. I'm Sam." He reached his hand out for Rory to shake, but he just stared at it. "Are you OK, dude? You seem kind of weird."

Rory snapped out of his stupor. "Sorry. It must be the jet lag messing with my head." Rory reached out his hand to shake Sam's. When their hands touched, Rory felt like fainting again. He felt like he was in some terribly cliché chick flick.

"Rory, dear!"

Rory jumped out of his skin.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" Mary Evans put her hand on the young boy's shoulder.

After a bit of hesitation, Rory responded, "It's quite all right, ma'am. I suppose I'm just a wee bit tired from the trip."

"Of course. How could I forget? Anyway, no need to call me ma'am. Just call me Mary." She smiled jovially and then turned to Sam and said, "I'm going to go get the car and bring it to the entrance. Will you take Rory to get his baggage?"

"Yeah, sure."

_I really don't fit in with these people,_ Rory thought._ Sam seems so cool and his mother is so lively. They'll think I'm boring. Maybe this whole program was a bad idea._

* * *

><p>Those sparkling blue eyes, though beautiful, were the scariest things Sam had ever seen. They belong to a guy. And Sam liked them. <em>What the hell is wrong with me, <em>Sam thought. _Maybe I'm just tired or something. Just shake it off, Evans, and man up._

Sam headed over to his new roommate and reached his hand out, cleared his throat, and spoke, "Umm, hey. I'm Sam." He remembered how his mother had always scolded him for saying "umm" because it wasn't proper, but he decided not to dwell on it at the moment.

The boy in front of him tentatively shook his hand and looked a bit sick.

"Are you OK, dude? You seem kind of weird." As soon as Sam said that, he wondered if Irish people used the word dude or even if they shook hands. Maybe that's why he hesitated before shaking hands. Sam almost asked his mother but his mother yelled out, scaring Rory in the process.

After they talked for a bit, his mother asked him to help Rory get his baggage, which Sam was not happy about. He replied with a "Yeah, sure."

Sam really did not want to be alone with this boy. Not that he was scary or weird or anything, but because he didn't know what to do around a boy that had such beautiful eyes. Sam was used to being confused when it came to school but this truly was a new experience. He wanted just to stare at Rory's eyes forever.

"Let's go, Ror."

He received a confusing look from the smaller boy next to him.

"Is it alright if I call you that?"

Rory nodded vigorously.

* * *

><p><em>Oh lord, you look like a little kid. What are you doing? <em>Rory asked himself._ You've just met this guy and you're already freaking out around him._

"Y-yeah. I'd like that," Rory murmured. He was still worried that he was embarrassing himself already. There was little time for him to worry about that, however. Sam was already starting to walk away so Rory had to jog to catch up.

The walk to the luggage carousel was silent and awkward. Sam seemed to be conflicted.

"Are you Ok, uhh, dude?" Rory felt awkward saying "dude" but he figured that it would make him seem less foreign.

"Yeah, dude. I'm just a little stressed out."

"Mind me asking why?"

"Have you ever…oh, never mind. Don't worry about it."

"I want to worry about it. If I'm going to be living with you I'd like to think I could help you out a little bit." Rory knew it was a bit risky but he put his hand on Sam's shoulder to show his support. Sam quickly pulled away, leaving Rory feeling horrible, like he had overstepped some crucial no-touching line.

* * *

><p><em>Why does this kid's touch affect me so much? Wait, is that effect with an "e" or affect with an "a?" Oh well, who cares. Anyway, how come this is making me feel so weird? I never felt this weird when Quinn got close to me. What's going on here? Oh crap. Now look at him. I think I hurt his feelings. He must be sensitive. I guess it makes sense because he's scared, being in a new country with people he's never met being mean to him and all that stuff. Wait. I wasn't mean to him, was I? I just…was weirded out by him touching me. Why is that so bad? Gosh. Why do I even care that I hurt him? Ugh, I can't help it. He's just too cute! Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Sam, you need to calm down. He's a <em>boy,_ remember. He's not supposed to be cute. Goodness, this must be what Mrs. Cavlin was talking about with one of those rivers of consciousness or whatever. I really should have paid attention when she was explaining that._

* * *

><p><em>Good job, Rory. You are officially the most socially awkward person in the country. And you've only been here for ten minutes! That must be a new kind of record. I sure hope he likes me. Whoops. I shouldn't get too ahead of myself here. If he's freaking out just because I touched his shoulder, he's obviously not gay. Neither am I, though. Well, I wish I wasn't. I know mother would freak out about this. That's one reason I came out here. I hoped I could find more accepting people on this continent. Guess I'm not going to get so lucky. It's OK. I can just hide it. Like usual.<em>


	5. Chapter 5  Hero

_A/N: I am such a horrible person. I really wanted to get this chapter up sooner but I had so much to deal with (being AP tests and finals and graduation). But now I'm done with high school and have the whole summer to write, so hopefully updates will be a lot more frequent now. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :-D_

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><p><strong>Chapter 5 ~ Hero<strong>

Going down the escalator, Rory made sure to stay at least three steps behind Sam.

"Do you know which carousel to go to?" Sam asked.

"I think they said number three."

"It's over there." Sam pointed in the direction of the baggage claim. "I don't think you uhh…need me to go with you, right?"

Rory nodded.

_I didn't think I had upset him this much._

Rory tried to get rid of the frown on his face as he walked away from Sam. To distract himself, he pulled out the phone his mother had given him and dialed her number. After half a ring he got an answer.

"Rory? Rory, dear! Did you land safely? Hello? Are you there? Is everything alright?"

"Ma-"

"Oh Rory, you're safe, right? I sure hope nothing bad happened to you on the flight. You better answer me before I get on a plane and come check on you myself."

"Ma, I'm trying to answer you. Just calm down. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes mom," he said with a slight chuckle.

"OK, good. How was the flight?"

"Long. I wasn't expecting it to be so long."

"Well that's what you deserve for deciding to fly so far away from your family."

"Mom, you promised you wouldn't make me feel bad for that."

"OK, I'll let it go. For now. How do you like the Evans family? Are they nice to you? If not, you better tell me."

"Mom, don't worry. Mrs. Evans seems quite nice, if a bit eccentric at times. I haven't met the little ones or the father yet. I'm still at the airport." Rory sincerely hoped that his mother didn't ask about Sam; he didn't feel like giving her any hint of sadness.

"Ok. What about that Sam boy?"

_Darn it,_ Rory thought as he sighed.

"I heard that. What did you sigh for? Is Sam mean to you? Did he yell at you or hurt you? I knew I shouldn't have let you go."

"Ma!" Rory yelled, garnering some odd looks from people standing around. Rory almost forgot that he was supposed to be looking for his bags. There were a dozen or so people left waiting for bags. Rory didn't see his but didn't have time to worry before his mother screamed at him.

"Don't yell at me, Rory Flanagan! It's very disrespectful! I don't know how many times I've told you this!"

"Sorry, ma."

Three more people found their bags.

"You better not speak to Mr. or Mrs. Evans that way, because if I hear that you do, I will have you sent back here instantly."

"OK. Sorry, ma'am."

"Ehh, I'll let it slide just this once."

Five more people walked away with their luggage and Rory started to feel a bit nervous.

"Thanks, ma. Now I gotta go. I still need to find my luggage and stuff. I promise I'll call you before I go to bed, alright?"

"Make sure you do. Love you honey, and stay safe."

"I will. Love you too, ma."

Rory made sure to wait for his mother to hang up first. The last time he hung up the phone before his mother, she thought he was being rude and couldn't wait to get rid of her. He was grounded for a week.

The last few people walked away from the luggage carousel with their belongings. Rory immediately broke out in a sweat. He never was good dealing with pressure. He flashed back to one time to the first day he was sent to a new babysitter's house after Nanny Nora had passed. The girl's name was Chloe. After his mother had left, Chloe attempted to ask Rory what he liked to do for fun and what shows he liked to watch. Rory promptly soiled his pants and began crying. Rory didn't remember much after the accident except for that he never saw the girl again.

Thankfully, Rory was able to control his bowels this time. This, however, didn't stop him from being extremely nervous. Not only was he in a new country by himself, but it also seemed like he didn't have any of his stuff either. This was not turning out to be a very good experience at all.

* * *

><p>Sam felt his phone buzz from his pocket.<p>

'I'm out front. Do you guys have Rory's luggage?' his mother texted.

'no but theres only a few bags left. just a few more secs.'

'Ok, I'll make another loop around the airport since I'm not allowed to stay parked here.'

'ok,' he sends his mother and puts his phone away.

Rory just seems to be standing still as the last person walks away from the baggage claim.

_What's wrong?_ Sam asks himself. He gets up and walks over to him. Before saying anything he takes a deep breath to recompose himself. Sam still felt a bit nervous around Rory. _I just have to remember not to look straight into his eyes._

"Is everything cool?"

"Huh?" Rory turns to look at Sam as the taller boy averts his gaze.

"Are you OK? Where's your stuff?"

"I-it's not here. I don't know what happened to it."

"Dude, that sucks. Who can we go to for complaining and stuff?"

"I haven't a clue."

Sam watched Rory start to pace back and forth. He remembered what his mother had told him earlier that morning.

'_Keep in mind that Rory is coming to an all-new place, an ocean away from his home. You really need to remember that and help him out in all ways possible. Be strong and protect him and help him out any way you can. As far as I'm concerned, he's your new brother and I want you to treat him just as you would Stevie or Stacy.'_

"Don't worry about it, Rors. I'll go find someone to help. Just stay right here." Sam patted Rory on the back and then jogged away to find help.

For some odd reason, Sam felt sort of like a knight in shining armor, running off to save the damsel in distress. There was a flash in Sam's mind of Rory in a flowing purple dress but he quickly discarded that from his thoughts.

"Excuse me, sir," Sam said to a man in a security uniform, "but do you know where to go to find missing luggage?"

"Yeah son, just go to the Luggage Recovery Kiosk on the second floor."

"Thank you," Sam said and ran back to Rory.

When he got back, the Irish boy was nowhere to be found and Sam became irrationally nervous. His mother had told him to protect Rory and he intended to take his job seriously, regardless of the fact that he still felt queasy around him.

"Rory!" Sam yelled. "Rory, where are you?"

He ran up to an older woman and asked, "Have you seen a boy with brown hair, just a bit shorter than me, with the brightest blue eyes you've ever seen?"

"What?" the lady asked, seeming to adjust her hearing aid.

"Ugh, never mind," Sam huffed and ran off to some rows of seats he saw coming into the airport. No Rory. He checked around the food court area. No Rory. He went to the last place he could think of, the bathroom.

'I'm here again,' Sam's mother texted him on the way.

'mom theres a problem. the airline lost rorys luggage. i am helping him find it but it might be a while.'

'Oh goodness. I'll find a place to park again. Do you need me to come back in?'

'no i can take care of this.'

He stopped to catch his breath before walking in. He heard someone making gagging noises. He asked quietly, "Rory? Is that you?"

There was another gross noise. "Y-yeah," he heard faintly.

Sam walked over to the stall and asked, "Can I come in?" When there was no reply, Sam just decided to walk in anyway.

After wincing a bit at the smell, Sam bent down and instinctively rubbed Rory's back in an attempt to make him feel better. _It's what I would do for my own siblings,_ he thought.

"Dude, what happened?"

"N-n-nothing. Don't worry about it," Rory said, wiping his mouth off.

"Stop. Don't say that. Tell me what's wrong so I can help." Sam surprised himself with his forcefulness, but he wanted Rory to know that he cared about him.

Sam surprised himself at the intenseness with which he worried about Rory. Even though he had just met him, what his mother told him had really sunk in. But it almost seemed like less of a sibling protection thing and more like a lov-.

_No, don't say it, Sam. Don't get ahead of yourself now._

"Sam, I'll be fine. I just…don't do very well in situations like this."

"It's OK. Don't sweat it. I found out where to go to get your stuff and I'm sure they'll help us out. Here, can you stand up."

"Yeah, I feel a bit better now. Thanks Sam."

A sudden urge overtook Sam as Rory stood up. He wrapped his arms around Rory and squeezed as if his life depended on it.

* * *

><p><em>Is this really happening? I thought he was sensitive about touching? I'm not really sure how to respond to this. I guess I should just…enjoy it. I really feel safe in his arms. Maybe this won't be such a bad experience after all.<em>

* * *

><p><em>What the hell is up with me? I'm standing here in a bathroom stall hugging a boy that I just met and…and I really like it. I wish I could describe what I'm feeling but I've never really been good at that…<em>

The two boys let go of each other and Sam made the horrible mistake of staring directly into Rory's bright blue eyes again. He was completely entranced, but only for a moment.

"Uhh, let's go get your bags," Sam said, trying to be as cool as possible. "You OK to go?"

"Y-yeah…" Rory said, blushing furiously.

After receiving a weird look from a man because he they walked out of the same stall, the duo went up to the second floor. They found the kiosk and Sam went to the woman running the desk.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Can you help us find my friend's bags?"

"One moment please," the lady said. "What flight was the baggage in question supposed to be on?"

Sam looked over at Rory. "Oh, number 324, I believe. From Dublin to here."

"Well, isn't that a cute little accent you've got there," the receptionist said, giggling.

Sam rolled his eyes. _Can we hurry this up please?_

"From what I can see here," she said after some typing, "all of the baggage from that flight seems to have been claimed."

"What?" Rory sounded crestfallen.

"There's no way. Everybody else got their stuff, but Rory didn't. I know you guys must have it somewhere and you really need to find it." Sam's voice rose mid-sentence and he began to become angry.

Rory tried to calm him down. "Sam, don't fret. I can just ask my ma to send me some more stuff."

"No, Rory. They are going to find your stuff now!"

"Excuse me, sir. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I don't appreciate your tone.

"What? Are you serious? What about his stuff? We're just supposed to leave without it?"

"Sir, I will send down a request for someone to look for it but I can't guarantee anything for a couple hours. There a multiple flights we have to monitor and we can't spend all of our time looking for just one person's belongings."

"This is such crap!"

"Sam, please don't get too angry," Rory said.

"If I could just get a phone number, I will have someone give you a call as soon as we have some more information."

"Fine," Sam huffed and wrote down his number.

"Thank you and have a nice day," the lady said with a snip of sarcasm.

"Let's go, Sam."

"Fine."

* * *

><p>'were ready'<p>

'Ok, be there in a second.'

Sam and Rory walked outside to wait for Mary. Sam paced back and forth in anger as Rory sat down on a bench.

"Thanks for your help, Sam."

"Not like I was much help," he grumbled.

"You were like my hero. You saw how I was under pressure."

Sam felt a surge of pride after being called a hero. All of his life, Sam had strived to be the sort of person people could look up to, especially is siblings. He knew he wasn't the smartest or the most philosophical, so he settled for being honorable and courageous in any possible situation.

"Really? You thought I was a…hero?"

"Yeah. I don't know how I can thank you for all that you did."

"Don't worry about it."

Mary Evans drove up in the family car and rolled down the passenger window.

"Where are his bags?"

"I'll explain on the way," Sam said and she nodded.

Rory was about to open the side door to the car when Sam pushed his hand out of the way.

"Wha-?" Rory started.

Sam opened the door and smiled widely. Rory returned the smile and got in.

_Wow, I really like him,_ Rory thought.


	6. Chapter 6  The Sibling Zone

_A/N: Well, here it is! I really like this one for some reason and I really hope you all feel the same. I just feel so dang giddy when I get reviews, so even just little comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks guys! :-)_

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><p><strong>Chapter 6 – The Sibling Zone<strong>

"Are you magic?"

"Are you a leprechaun?"

"Can you turn Stacy into a leprechaun?"

"Can you turn Stevie into a dog so he has to stay outside all the time and leave me alone?"

"Well can you—"

"Guys! Leave Rory alone!" Sam yelled.

"But Sammy, I wanna see his magic powers!"

"He's not magic and he's not a leprechaun. He's a normal person just like us."

"Are you sure? He looks kinda funny."

Rory laughed as Sam smacked his little brother in the back of his head.

"Be nice," Mary Evans said. "Go and wash up for dinner, you two."

"Don't wait too long. Stevie will have to wash himself for _years_ to be clean enough to eat at the table."

"Whatever, cootie-monster," Stevie heckled, pushing his sister down the hallway.

"I'm sorry about them. You know how kids are."

Rory nodded. "Yeah, I have a brother. Not quite as young as them, but I understand."

There was a loud crash as a pan slid out of the kitchen.

"You OK, hun?" Mary asked as Dwight came out covered in some sort of weird liquid and hair tussled around.

"I tried cooking dinner so it could be ready when you guys got home. Obviously, it didn't work too well."

Rory tried not to laugh as Mr. Evans walked over to him. He wiped his hands on his apron that said 'Kiss the cook' and reached his hand out for Rory to shake.

"So you must be Rory. Sorry you had to come home to this mess. I can usually cook."

Rory saw Mrs. Evans shake her head in the background and he held in a chuckle.

"Dwight, why don't we just order some pizza? You can cook some other time."

"But…fine. I'll make some burgers or something tomorrow night."

"Sure you will, dad," Sam said.

"What kind of pizza do you like, Rory?" Mary asked.

Rory just shrugged. Sam came up behind him and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't be afraid to talk. You're part of the family." Rory shivered as Sam's breath ghosted along his ear.

"Uhh…pepperoni is fine."

"OK," Mrs. Evans said, grinning, and picked up the phone.

"You need help cleaning up, sir?" Rory asked, trying to be polite.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I can handle it," Dwight said. "I made the mess so I can take care of it. How 'bout you have Sam show you the house?"

Rory nodded and Sam smiled. "Come on, Rors." Sam pulled Rory's arm to follow him down the hallway by the kitchen. There were pictures of the family lining the wall. School pictures of the kids were all in orderly rows. Rory was able to see Sam's transformation from a young boy to the startlingly handsome man he had become. He stopped and stared at the most recent picture. _Wow, he is amazing._

"Don't look at that. It's really bad."

"No…it's a really good picture. You look…" Rory wanted to say something along the lines of handsome, beautiful, amazing, gorgeous, _perfect._ But he didn't want to push it. "You look good," he finished.

* * *

><p><em>He thinks I look good in my school picture? He probably just said that to be nice. Come on, look at it. My hair is stupid and long because I forgot to go get a haircut beforehand. And look at the flab on my arms. How gross. I really should have worked out more and not eaten all those Cool Ranch Doritos. I'm so gross.<em>

"Uhh come on, let's go." Sam pulled Rory away from the picture.

"Here on the left is Stacy's room and on the right is Stevie's. They really don't like having their rooms by each other, but there was no way I was going to trade one of them. At the end of the hall is the laundry room, but you won't have to worry about using it."

"Because I don't have any of my clothes?" Rory said, solemnly.

"Oh, no," Sam said. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant you won't have to worry about using it because when you _do_ get some clothes, I'll wash 'em for ya."

"What? Why would you do that?"

"Because my mother told me to treat you like a sibling and since I do their laundry, I'm going to do yours too."

"Y-you really don't have to."

"Yeah I do. Now let's go upstairs.

* * *

><p><em>He's treating me like a sibling? Great. There goes any chance I have with him. Not that I really expected anything anyway. How do they say it around here? I'm stuck in the sibling zone? Sounds close enough I suppose. I'm definitely stuck in the sibling zone.<em>

Sam led Rory up the stairs, passing more family photos on the way. The plush carpeting and beautiful windows and fancy doors humbled Rory. He was used to the cramped space and bland feel of his home in Ireland. Though this new place was nice, he did miss his home a bit. There were just so many new things for him to absorb here; it felt like he was in a new world.

"This is mom and dad's room. We're not really allowed to go in there," Sam chuckled a bit as they continued walking down the long hallway upstairs. "There's my bathroom, and here," he pointed, "is my bedroom. Unfortunately we don't have the spare room fixed up quite yet. We couldn't get dad to put away his trains. He's a big fan. So that means you'll have to stay in my room for the time being."

Sam opened the door but Rory didn't follow. He felt like he was entering Sam's secret world and he felt sort of odd about it.

"You coming?"

Rory stepped in and was amazed at what he saw. Sam's room was immaculate, much different from his own room at home (much to his mother's chagrin). Multiple _Avatar _posters covered the wall, with some _Star Wars_ ones thrown in for good measure. Numerous superhero action figures sat on top of the dresser and were on top of the television set as well.

"Umm…Sam...I don't want to take your room from you. I can just sleep on the couch or the floor or something. I don't even need a blanket or a pillow; I don't want to be a burden to you or—"

"Stop."

"H-huh?"

"You're going to sleep in here, end of story."

"But…"

Sam put his finger to Rory's lips. Rory froze at the contact. "I know my mother told me to treat you like one of my siblings, but that's not good enough…for you, Rory. I dunno why but I just feel like you're something special. I know I suck with words and feelings and stuff and I know this is weird because I just met you but there's something about you that's great. Something amazing. And you are really too good to sleep on the floor. I know it's not much, but I at least want you to have my bed. While you're here, I'm going to treat you like a prince. No! A king. That's the least you deserve. OK?"

Rory nodded, mouth held open in shock.

"Sam, can you come help me for a second?" Mary Evans yelled.

Sam slowly stepped away from Rory and headed down the stairs.


End file.
